“A doggie quandary for us ...”

Description from Chicky Red-haired Grammy: and we could use some knowledge. We are planning to get a standard poodle, hopefully before we head back to the states in 2014. Our preference is for a puppy but we are concerned it will be too young still to travel in a kennel by air. We are also considering taking a boat back across which takes 6(?) days.

We are not terribly fussy about the colour, although black is preferable as we live on a lake in northern Minnesota. An acquaintance here suggested an apricot to match my hair! My worse teen-age fear was that I would eventually have apricot hair as the white started crowding out the strawberry blonde. Good grief!

Love big poodles. Such intelligent doggies. I dont’ think you could go wrong with any color. I had a friend who had an apricot and always left his face ‘lion cut/puppy cut’ (can’t recall exactly). But he was gorgeous. I’ve not had experience with transporting dogs via air or boat – so hopefully some of the other folks will be able to give advice. Love the pick!!

Of course Zamima is beíased towards white poodles and she is a dog running in stables, forest and little here and there where it’s dirty and she is quite clean anyway My parents that has worked on airplains says it’s not so fun for doggies travling in aircrraft. Now it’s was some year ago… The only thing with boat I can think of is that the dog might seasick and I dunno how it’s with pop and such stuff. But then it can have you as support! Great choice of dog Poodles do look great in shades

Frida keeps her clipped so it is hard to see that she is a poodle in this picture. But if Zammy lets mommy pose her in shades, she must be a very laid back girl. I have heard it is pretty hard on dogs to travel by plane in the cargo hold. I would take the boat. Good luck!

Yes like Becky says aint easy to see that she is a poodle in this pick! She is a laid back girl Right now she sporting a more poodle look. If I remember and you want to see I can take some pics to show!

Some old pics being just hairy! She is a clever dog enjoying chickens (according to her a delicate thingy on two legs) She also looks at chickens on computer

Yes like Becky says aint easy to see that she is a poodle in this pick! She is a laid back girl Right now she sporting a more poodle look. If I remember and you want to see I can take some pics to show!

Some old pics being just hairy! She is a clever dog enjoying chickens (according to her a delicate thingy on two legs) She also looks at chickens on computer

She is fantastic, I had a standard poodle as a child, he lived to be almost 18 years old, he was an awesome dog, as for your question, I think that a dog can easily get seasick, a flight will be so much shorter and you might be able to lightly sedate him, before making any decision talk to a vet.

Hi red haired chicky…. I heard recently that if you have a very small dog you can put it under your seat in the plane. So check with the airlines about that to see if that is correct. But I assume you want a dog “now” and that would mean it would no longer be small by the time you move in 2014.

How about 2 dogs. Get a small breed now and then get your poodle when you get back in the states? I know that’s probably not an option. Just a thought.

Hi Chickies.. I am just now reading picks etc..it has been a while.
Red Haired Grammy, Poodles are the way to go! We have Jasper, who is a standard poodle, and plan to get another. Jasper is what is know as ‘parti-colored’(parti; meaning more than one color). He is brown & white.He has papers and is registered. His breeder(who resides in Duluth) will have puppies available mid- summer. Poodles come in many colors, but the parti-colored is the original color, when they were hunter/ retrievers, before they were bred in solid colors for show.:) Why are you not waiting until you are state side before getting a dog ? (although I know it is a wait..)

Merilee, what a delightfully clever pick! Oh, poodles! We love them sooooo much! We’ve had 3 toy poodles (no more than 10 pounds) over the years & all were female. Angel was white, Shelby was black/tan (parti-colored aka phantom), & we currently have Coco, who is (surprise!) a mocha brown.

Poodles of all sizes are so intelligent, fun, playful, & have great senses of humor. We’ve always had our girls cut in the “lamb” style — very easy to care for.

We found Angel in a pet store (before we knew better than to buy a dog from one). Shelby & Coco were each rescued dogs. Shelby was 7 years old when her owner passed on. She had health problems when we first got her, but was fine after surgery to remove mammary tumors. Coco was rescued from a puppy mill when she was 3 years old. She had to learn to trust us, what treats were, how to play with toys….you get the idea. She was very underweight — you could see her spine & ribs — but now she is the picture of health & happiness!

If you don’t get a dog from a reputable breeder, consider rescuing a dog from a shelter. You save 2 lives — the dog you rescue & the one the shelter now has room to take in!

We have been planning to obtain a standard poodle once we get back to Minnesota but with our new landlord allowing a dog, we thought “why not get one now?” … especially with Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park less than a block away.

Our current dog is staying with our son and his family in Connecticut and may be theirs forever as he is only 7 pounds and easy prey for bald eagles. Some of you may recall our first dog weighed only 6 pounds and was taken by a bald eagle. So no more little dogs.

I have flown with both of my dogs; their carrier did fit under the seat in front of me. I do not know whether this is allowed on international flights and I am really uncomfortable taking a dog on an 8-10 hour flight. And on a ship … frankly, I never considered a dog might be seasick, although since we humans get sick, why not dogs?

The bottom line is that we will most likely wait until we are back home until getting another dog. This makes me very sad but such is life and nothing compared to what Deb and Suzie have been going through with their furry loveys.

We would love a corgi but we both are allergic to dogs who shed.

Thank you again. I shall keep you posted should there be new developments.

I have a friend at the dog park who got her standard size from a great breeder in Missouri if you decide to wait until you return to Minnesota. She drove down there to get her and was very pleased with their kennels. Good luck and keep us updated!

Sorry to see you’ve waited to get a dog but its totally understandable. All the stress of moving is already hard. I cannot imagine moving across the ocean and having to worry about your pet also. But it just gives you one more good thing to look forward to when you get home. Eeka Mouse has a good idea about fostering though.

Oh and how horrible to have a pet taken like your small dog was…I cant imagine. I once ran out my front door screaming and throwing things so this hawk couldn’t have the squirrel he had just grabbed. I’m sure my neighbors thought I was crazy but I fed that squirrel pecans and peanuts everyday!!

Merilee, Let me find out the name of the breeder from my friend at the dog park. She had an unfortunate accident around Thanksgiving, being in the path of two rambunctious dogs and getting a broken leg in the process. So it may be a while. I will send you a message when I find out.
Take Care

Once when my husband and I were walking in the park we crossed a couple that had a Party Poodle. She was big and was white with black spots. They rescued her and she was a magnificent looking dog and they said that she was wonderful.